Murder on the Orient Express
About the Film
The famed Belgian detective Hercule Poirot boards the luxurious Orient Express for a quiet journey across 1930s Europe, sharing the carriages with a glittering cross-section of strangers. Among them is Edward Ratchett, a coarse American “businessman” who, unnerved by threatening letters, tries to hire Poirot as a bodyguard — an offer the detective flatly refuses.
When an avalanche halts the train in the mountains, Ratchett is found stabbed to death in his locked compartment. Poirot soon learns the victim was really John Cassetti, the gangster behind the notorious kidnap and murder of little Daisy Armstrong. As he interrogates the passengers, the detective uncovers that every one of them is secretly bound to the Armstrong tragedy — and must weigh cold justice against the mercy of an extraordinary, collective act of vengeance.
Plot synopsis by johnny-depp.org.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp plays Edward Ratchett, an oily, menacing American art-and-antiquities dealer whose bravado barely conceals his fear. As Poirot’s investigation reveals, Ratchett is a false identity for John Cassetti, the child-killer whose crimes drive the entire mystery. Depp gives the doomed villain a slick, unsettling charm in a role that is brief but pivotal — the dark heart around which the whole ensemble puzzle turns.
Cast & Crew
Cast
Hercule PoirotKenneth Branagh
Edward Ratchett / CassettiJohnny Depp
Caroline HubbardMichelle Pfeiffer
Pilar EstravadosPenélope Cruz
Princess DragomiroffJudi Dench
Mary DebenhamDaisy Ridley
Hector MacQueenJosh Gad
Gerhard HardmanWillem Dafoe
BoucTom Bateman
Crew
DirectorKenneth Branagh
ScreenplayMichael Green
Based on the novel byAgatha Christie
MusicPatrick Doyle
CinematographyHaris Zambarloukos
ProducersRidley Scott, Mark Gordon, Simon Kinberg, Kenneth Branagh, Judy Hofflund, Michael Schaefer
Studio20th Century Fox
Filming Locations
- Longcross Studios, Surrey, England (the train sets)
- Various locations across the United Kingdom
- Alpine and viaduct plates shot in New Zealand and Switzerland
More about this film
Trivia
- The film was shot on 65mm film — the same large-format cameras used for Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.
- The elaborate prop train built for the production was later converted into a tea-room experience in England’s Lake District.
- Michelle Pfeiffer performed the film’s original end-credits song, “Never Forget.”
- Branagh’s success revived the franchise, leading to Death on the Nile (2022) and A Haunting in Venice (2023).
Awards
- 2018 Costume Designers Guild Award — Excellence in Period Film, nominated
